Saturn SL2

Ninth Place: Little Cars 6.1

Here's another car that's bumping its head on price. The Saturn SL2's $16,020 sticker is highest of the group. Moreover, the "no hassle, no haggle" promise of Saturn dealers means there's little pricing flexibility, even if you bring Henry Kissinger as your negotiator (Saturn spokesmen agree that pricing of their cars is "firmer" than that of other brands, although an individual dealer may allow some wiggle room).

That's too bad, because our test car has neither the quality nor the sophistication to compete at the asking price (customers may be willing to pay extra for the plain dealing they get at Saturn stores, but that doesn't influence our rankings).

Best feature: a strong engine. The Saturn is first in quarter-mile acceleration (16.5 seconds at 84 mph) and first in the run to 100 mph. Top-gear acceleration is strong, too, with either the Saturn or the muscular Hyundai winning all of those tests.

But other performance measures are less impressive. The SL2 was average in skidpad grip and slightly poorer than average in braking distance, this despite having ABS.

Weakest features: comfort and quality. The slack-feeling driver's seat puts you right down on the floor. In front of you, everything is coal black -- the dash, the wheel, the console, the brake handle, the shifter, even the door handles and their surrounds -- no matter what color upholstery you've chosen. Moreover, the dash top is so crudely molded it would look out of place in a bottom-rung Korean.

The strong engine is noisy, the shifter moves with junky scratching motions, and the whole machine feels rattly. Handling is generally trustworthy, but there's no slickness to the way this automobile gets down the road.

For rear-seat space and comfort, the SL2 ranked lowest. And the door pockets are so small that they won't even accommodate the length of the notebooks we use for running commentary during these tests.